03/12/2026
Fun Fact Friday!
Did you know that William Wallace Denslow, Jr. was the first artist Elbert Hubbard invited to the Roycroft Campus?
Denslow (American, 1856-1915) was a children's book illustrator, editorial cartoonist, designer, Roycroft artisan, author & self-publisher, set & costume designer, poster illustrator, and caricaturist. Denslow is best known for his beloved illustrations for author Lyman Frank Baum's famous children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, (1900).
Denslow was a collector of fine books, and in 1896, he wrote Hubbard requesting a copy of the Song of Songs. The letter was illustrated with his artwork in the margins which caught the attention of Hubbard, who invited him to illustrate for the Roycroft Press. Denslow agreed, and worked remotely from Chicago, designing book illustrations, cover designs, and title pages for many of the Roycroft books and publications.
Denslow was the first professional artist invited by Hubbard to work at the Roycroft shops, and in March of 1898, he came to East Aurora for a visit with the intention of remaining around a month to six weeks, to help instruct the Roycroft artists in hand-decoration and hand-illuminating the various works.
Today we keep Denslow's spirit alive by using his art to inspire our annual event posters, included is a sneak peak of some of the illustrations we're using for 2026!
Credits: Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc., Roycroft Campus Archives, Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg, Biblio.
Poster Design: Martyn Printing
